Thanks for the response. I guess it's always better to clear things up if you can, and help build bridges. I have a hard time NOT bringing something up if it is affecting me personally. But when it comes to bringing something up if it is affecting other people, it is very different - and also very different if it's something that may be affecting themselves negatively (within reason, because who am I to tell other people how to live their life?).

When these circumstances occur and I am inclined to criticize some type of behavior (with good intentions, of course!), if I DON'T bring it up to the person after becoming aware of it, and it's something that continues to occur to their detriment, I feel like I am held responsible for not communicating when I could have, and I feel horrible. But this could be things like personal matters, where it is more than likely very inappropriate to intrude... But it's like I said, if I can help build a bridge in a person's life, I want to. But not everyone wants help, nor a bridge at all.

It's a very good thing that you wrote this out. You will undoubtedly help many people, and if not, at least give some great perspective. Thanks for sharing≈!╘╧╧(Θ ∩≈Θ;)╧╧╧╧╧♪♪

For science, how would someone go about telling an ENFP that they are being self-absorbed in this kind of context, without coming across as a prude, and without hurting their feelings? Moreover, are there any bases I need to hit to let 'em 'chew' on like you said?

Would the person have to be a close friend to criticize your personality? Or is there a way to articulate the right clues even if spoken from a stranger? I know it's a coming of age thing + depends who are you, so you can't magically deter someone from their self-absorbtion, but there must be some congruency in terms of the nuances of cognitive development between you and another ENFP.

Oscillate would be an excellent word to use. There have been more than a few notable times where I would adopt a new perspective and gradually change the way I reacted to things (read behavior) and accumulated a series of events in which I let someone down, made a poor decision, etc... I'm not very good at dealing with negative emotions, and find that when I leave my "inner peace" unchecked, and continue to berate it with stress and stress and more stress, my brain just rejects my normal disposition and I am forced to unleash whatever it is I'm feeling upon the world.

However, objectively from a person's mood or emotional stability, I will say that "oscillating" between types may be reminiscent of the INFJ's leading Ni (nicknamed "Perspectives"), whereby their framework is rigorously tested via 'cutting the scraps' (Ni + Ti). You could say, then, that the activity of Ni + Ti as a malleable, internal framework that could be treated (and visually presented as a bumpy, f*'d up sine wave or something) as an irregular oscillation that cycles between a solid (closed) framework, and soft (open) framework, where Ti would be anxiously checking out angles, rather than having contents of certainty. If that made sense.

This, though, sounds like evidence that the perception that you are "oscillating" is merely the work of the INFJ functions themselves, and it is, like you said somewhere in this thread, pertinent to the pathology of an INFJ. I can say though, that it sure seems like my personality oscillates.

Sometimes in order to strengthen one's ability to read other's intentions, one must make horrible mistakes. Don't sweat it, man. Time will pass and you'll be happy you've learned from it.

My advice to you would be to learn methods of compensating for distress in your life. Whatever that may be, talking to your friends/family about it, listening to music and et cetera, it is important to understand what has happened before doing something about it. I can't remember how many times I've acted out of desperation, only to regret my lack of taking responsibility for myself.

If you don't have close friends or family to talk about stuff with, don't be afraid to reach out to me or others in this sub. If we share a preference of cognitive function, there is some chance that we may know what you're going through. :) Have a good day sir.

I had similar thoughts, and you have it all hashed out, so well said by that. To digress, it's easy to have an Fe function that lives to serve the Ni function, whereby there need not be a Fe 'check' at all, and the thoughts are instantly accepted as fact; like you said, skipping the auxiliary. I guess it's important for someone to realize it's happening for them to develop Fe in a healthy manner.

Although it's extremely important to trust your intuition, it's also important to realize that 'trusting' your intuition is a manifestation of the judging functions (Fe+Ti) themselves, in that you may have a somewhat well developed Fe or Ti, but for all the wrong reasons; treading lightly, as stated above, is especially important to avert this kind of foul coming of age. and you have to be able to admit that your intuitions are wrong. Not for the sake of being wrong, but for the sake of the evidence that refutes them. If your framework has no room for evidence against your intuition, one can adopt toxic lifestyles that confuse and repel others (not to say OP is toxic - just throwin' it out there).